Drier



W. M. SCHWARTZ Oct 28 1924.

DRIER Filed Nov. 26, 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet l a 69a a a Q a 0 @@@@@o@ooaaeoeaaa 4 00@@@@@@@@ aaaaoaaaoo 0099 Patented Oct. 28, 1924.

[TED STAES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER M. SCHWARTZ, F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR To PnooTo'a &SCHWARTZ, INCORPORATED, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORA- TIONOF PENNSYLVANIA.

' DRIER.

Application filled November 26, 1920. Serial No. 426,524.

/'0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER M. SCHWARTZ, a citizen of the United States,residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certainImprovements in Driers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain improve ments in driers of the type inwhich material to be dried is located in a drying chamber and in whichheated air is circulated through, or past, the material.

One object of my invention is to provide a drier with a certain type offan which will properly circulate the air through the, drying chamberand which will allow for the material reduction of the circulatingpasisage which connects with the drying cham- A further object of theinvention is to provide a fan on which the bearings can be loratedentirely outside of the casing and,

consequently, can be kept cool even when the air in circulation isbrought to a comparatively high temperature.

These objects I attain in the following manner, reference being had tothe accom-' panying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view through a drier illustrating myinvention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of one type of drier with which my invention canbe used;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view illustrating a form of drier in which thecirculation is from top and bottom towards the center of the drier;

Fig. 4 is a view illustrating a modification in which the direction ofcirculation of air in the drying chamber may be reversed; and

Fig. 5 is a face viewof the fan. Referring to the drawings, 1 is thecasing. 22, Q'are longitudinal partitions spaced from each side of thecasing forming narrow circulating compartments 3. Between the twocompartments is the drying chamber 4. In this drying chamber are rails 5for the conveyers 6 carrying sticks 7 from which the material is hung,or trayson which the material is supporteddepending upon the characterof the material to be dried.

The partitions extend short of the top of the casing so as to provideopenings 8 for the circulation of air from the circulating chamber 3 tothe upper portion of the drying chamber 4. In the upper portion of this'chamber are heating pipes 9, preferably arranged comparatively elosetogether and made so as to break up the currents of air as they passdown through the drying chamber and before the air reaches the materialto be dried. At the center of the upper portion of'the drying chamber isa short partition 10 extending from the roof of the drier to a-pointbelow the upper drying pipes 9 so that the air, circulating from eachside of the drier, will be deflected and will be kept within av certainzone.

In each partition 2- are one or more openings 11 through which the airin circulation passes to the fans 12. These fans are mounted on shafts13 adapted tobearings 14 car-.

ried by supports 15 mounted on the outside of the casing and preferablyextending to the floor on which the drier is mounted. These fans arecentrifugal fans having blades 16 and a conical deflecting disk 17, eachfan having any number of blades 16, which are preferably curved andextend to a point near the opening 11, terminating at the periphery ofthe fan construction." A conical casing 19 forms, with the conical disk17, a passage in the fan structure tom the air.

By this arrangement, it will be seen that the air is drawn into the fanfrom the drying chamber through the opening 11 and the fan throws theair out at its periphery, as it rotates. The air passes up thecirculating chamber 3 and through the openings 8 into the upper portionof the drying chamber, passing through the spaces between the heatingtubes, where it is reheated and divided so as to break up the currentsof air, and then flows through the material carried by the conveyers andagain enters the fan.

A- fan constructed in the manner hereinbefore described can be locatedin a comparatively narrow space, as the air is taken in at the front ofthe fan and escapes at the periphery. Furthermore, the shaft for thefans can be made comparatively short and the bearings can be located onthe outside of the casing where they can be lubricated at all times,and, being on the outside of the casing, will remain cool even while'theair in circulation is comparatively hot.

In Fig. 3, I have shown a modification,

the fan being of the type illustrated in Fig. 1. In this instance, thefan is lqcated midway between the top and bottom of the drier casing 1and there are openings 8 and 8 in the partition 2 As the air escapes atall points from the periphery of the fan, part of the air passes up inthe circulating chamber 3 through the openings 8 into the upper portionof the drying chamber 4 and between the series of heating pipes 9 downthrough the material on the conveyer 6 returning to the fan through theopening 11, while another current of air passes through the circulatingchamber 3 through the opening 8 at the.

bottom of the drier, up between the heating pipes 9 and through thematerial carried by the conveyer 6 This conveyer canbe made double, asshown in Fig. 3, so as to prevent the material being carried with theair to the fan, the conveyers being spaced a suflicient distance apartto; allow the material to have a limited amount of movement as the airpasses through 1t.

The drier shown in Fig. 3 is a single drier, while that illustrated inFig. 1 is a double drier. The construction shown in Fig. 1 may be madeas a single drier without departing from the essential features of theinvention. 2 I

Fig. 4 is a View of a modification, showing the means for changing thedirection of varculation of air in the drying chamber. This figurerepresents a single drierhaving one or more fans on one side onlyof thecasing. 1 is the casing. 2 and 2 are vertical partitions spaced apartand from the side walls of the casing, separating the circulatingchamber 3 from the drying chamber 4 In the circulating chamber 3 is thecirculating fan. In the upper and lower portions of the drying chamberare heating pipes for heating the air in circulation. While two sets areshown, one set may be used in some instances.

The partitions 2 and 2 stop short of the top and bottom of the casing sothat the circulating chamber and the intermediate chamber 20 communicatewith the drying chamber. In order to direct the air in circulatingproperly, I provide a pivoted damper 21,

adapted to close either the inthrmediate passage 20 or the passage 3. Atthe bottom is a damper 22 adapted to close the passage 3 or theintermediate passage 20. 7

As shown in Fig. i, the dampers 21 and 22 close the upper portion of theintermediate passage 20, and the lower portion of the passage 3, so thatthe air circulates asindicated by the arrows. When the damper 21 isturned up, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4, it closes the passage 3and opens the intermediate passage 20 to the upper end of the dryingchamber 4 while the damper intense 22, if moved as shown by dotted linesin said figure. closes the lower portion of the passage 20 and opens thelower portion of the passage 3 so that the direction of circulation isreversed.

I claim: U

l. The combination in a drier, of a casing a vertical partition thereinseparating a drying chamber from a narrow circulating chamber, saidpartition having two openings therein; a centrifugal fan located in thenarrow circulating chamber opposite one of said openings; means fordriving the fan so that air in circulation will be drawn from the dryingchamber by the fan, the fan discharging the air from its periphery intothe circulating chamber; means for heating the air; and means forsupporting material to be dried in the drying chamber between the twoopenings.

2. The combination in a drier, of a casing; a Vertical partitionextending throughout the length of the drier, said partition having twoopenings, one above the other; means, for supporting material to bedried, located in the drying chamber between the two openings; acentrifugal fan located in the circulating chamber opposite one of saidopen-' ings and arranged to draw air from the drying chamber and todischarge the air into the circulating chamber; means for heating theair; and bearings for the fan located outside of the casing.

3. The combination in a drier, of a casing; two vertical partitions inthe casing a given distance from each side thereof, which separatenarrow side, circulating chambers from a drying chamber,'each of saidpartitions having two openings therein; a cen= trifugal 'fan located ineach circulating chamber opposite one of said openings; a series ofheating pipes located in the upper portion of the casing; and means forconveying material to be dried, said means being located below theheating pipes and above the openings'in the partitions at thecentrifugal fans.

4. The combination in a drier, of a casing; two longitudinal partitionslocated in the casing and'spaced from'the sides thereof to form twocirculating passages and a central drying chamber; each partition havingupper passages and a fan opening; a centrifugal fan located in eachcirculating passage and communicating with the drying chamber throughthe fan openings in the partitiohs; a central, short partition dependingfrom the roof of the drier; a series of heating pipes in the dryingchamber on each side of said partition; and two conveyers arranged sideby side in the drying chamber below the heating pipes and above the fanopenings so that the air in circulation will pass between the pipesthrough the material to be dried into the fan and through the cirlltlculating passage to the upper portion of the drying chamber. 7

5. The combination in a drier, of a casing; a Vertical partition withinthe casing separating a drying chamber from a circulating chamber; meansfor heating the air in circulation; means, in the drying chamber, for!supporting the material to be dried; a centrifugal fan located in thecirculating chamber and communicating with the drying chamber so as todraw air from the drying chamber and discharge it into the circulatingchamber, said fan having a series of radial blades and a conicaldeflecting disk; a casing forming, with the disk, a contracted passagefor the air; a shaft on which the-fan is mounted; and bearings for theshaft on the outside of the casing.

6. The combination in a drier, of a casing enclosing a drying chamber,said casing having two openings; a centrifugal fan having its suctionside opposite one of said openings; means for driving the fan so thatair in circulation will be drawn from the drying chamber by the fan, thefan discharging the air from its periphery into the other opening; meansfor heating the air; and means for supporting material to be dried inthe drying chamber between the two openings.

WALTER M. SCHWARTZ.

